marauder 1600

Mon, 19 Apr 2004 18:30:55 -0400

Jim,

I did in fact ride both.  Here's my review after bikeweek:

aMIGos,

Had the opportunity to ride a few bikes this year and as usual I'm here to
report.

Kawasaki Mean Streak 1600:  In October I rode a V-Rod and my buddy Don said
that if you like the V-Rod you'll also really like the Mean streak so I
thought.."What the heck"?  First thing I notice is it weights a hell of a
lot more than the Marauder 800.  A couple of other immediate observations
were that the Pegs were noticeably higher and the drag bars were farther
forward than the Marauder 800.  Overall I'd rate the ergo's quite a bit more
aggressive than the Marauder 800.  Off we go and the low end torque is
obvious and really nice.  Effortless go power and a little snappier than the
Marauder but was left with the feeling that this bike needs another 25 horse
or so for the "Wow factor".  The handling was very predictable and never
scraped metal parts(Unlike my Marauder).  If there is one area that excelled
was the braking.  This baby has dual 6 piston tokico's are they work well.
Overall I liked the bike but didn't like it more than my Marauder even if it
was priced similar.   The bike has a nice design to it and has much of the
same characteristics as my little Marauder only doesn't seem to have the
same character IMHO.

Suzuki Marauder 1600:  Yep..Its the same bike as the mean streak I know but
I wanted to ride it again just to see if the bob tail fender offers any
downforce at 150 MPH  ;-)  As you all expected they ride identical and have
no distinguishing traits with the exception of the rear fender and some
paint and graphics.  It is my opinion that Suzuki botched the rear fender
design.  If I was to choose between the two there would be no decision to
make as I'd go Kawi in a second.  Suzuki should have went more like the
original Marauder or more like the Intruder 800 or 1400 rear fender.  The
fender they went with looks like it was tacked on the bike from some half
wit in his garage.  I feel kawi will sell lots of Mean Steaks but Suzuki
will sell a few but not much more.

Harley Davidson 1200 Sportster Roadster and Custom:  Harley FINALLY rubber
mounted the sportster and redid the frame and let me tell you.It's the best
sportster ever.  You can even ride this thing now for hours and not be in
traction when you arrive at your destination.  The bike has a subtle shake
at idle but roll the throttle and its smooth.  The sportster chasis is quite
good.  The roadster has a great adjustable suspension and really handles
great and with the dual from rotors it brakes decent too!  The Custom comes
with a bigger tank, pegs more forwards and more chrome.  The first thought
that came to mind when I got off these vastly improved Sportsters was that
they really narrowed the gap between their own Dyna's and the 1200
Sportster.  If I was gonna go for a new cruiser I'd consider one...At least
that's what I thought when I got off them but then again I hadn't ridden my
final test bike yet  J

Harley Davidson V-Rod:   AMAZING!!!   The Mean streak aint got nothing for
this bike! Its like comparing a Civic si to an Acura TSX.  It's remarkable
that Harley pulled this thing off.  Here's a bike that is probably smoother
than any jap bike I've ever tried.  The brakes are sportbike quality and the
handling is possibly the best in the cruiser world bar none!  It's a V-Twin
but never runs out of steam like V-Twins do when they reach the upper revs.
The pull is breathtaking and I was grinning ear to ear throughout my demo
ride.  When we got back to the demo area I looked at the faces of the other
riders and they all were aghast with this bike as I was(and this was the
second time I've ridden this thing).  In a time were the Jap makers are
trying to outdo Harley, this is a case of Harley outdoing the Japs and
succeeding. Its my opinion that this is the first Harley I've seen that's
actually worth the money they get(I'm told they can be had new for
$16,500-ish).  If you ever get a chance to try one of these I'm certain you
will be as impressed as I was.  Harley did this right!

C-Note

MIG #2

-----Original Message-----
From: migcruisers-admin@autox.team.net
[mailto:migcruisers-admin@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Jim Gammon
Sent: Monday, April 19, 2004 11:46 AM
To: migcruisers@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: marauder 1600

Didn't Craig test ride both?

JimG

don <dondenfer@earthlink.net> wrote:
Yeah I saw that new bad beast! I read a report on the mean streak 1600,
couldn't find one on the rauder 1600, but pretty much the same thing, and
the
review was positive, but there was disappointment in the top end powerband.
I
think the Marauder style is the nicest of all 4 major companies. Just my
opinion.
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